Officials warned in an Oct. 15 memo that tests on the dome's electrical feeders showed decay and "a chance of failure."

Entergy New Orleans, the company that supplies the stadium with power, and the structure's engineering staff also "had concerns regarding the reliability of the Dome service from Entergy's connection point to the Dome," the memo states.

The blackout embarrassed New Orleans just when it was hoping to show the world how far it has come since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But many fans were forgiving, and officials expressed confidence that the episode wouldn't hurt the city's hopes of hosting the championship again.